Silver Snow: Chapter Zeros
by Xiao Xi Quao
Summary: What exactly happened when Silver died and then mysteriously came back? What happened between Anna and Koda when she was captured? Find out the holes that were placed in Silver Snow as we set up towards the long-awaited prequel!
1. Chapter 1

**_Hello, everyone! Sorry it's been so long, I've been busy with school and work and few different projects (one of them being the book I actually plan to try and release someday). But to reward your patience to the long-awaited prequel of Silver Snow, I have prepared a few short stories to help you transition into the prequel. These will be known as the "Chapter Zeros", of which this one explains just how Silver managed to come back to Snow at the end. Also, I'll start giving updates in my profile about the sequel for those who are curious about the progress. Now, to be honest, there may be lots of questions you may have after reading this chapter zero, which is good because they'll all be answered in the prequel and set up the significance of the gravity in the previous story. Enjoy the fic, everyone, and your questions will be answered soon!_**

Silver Snow Chapter Zero-1: The Awakening, Part 1

He was dead. And death was cold. It wasn't like before, when life and love flashed before him like a radial spectrum of light. No, true death was like icy cold hands reaching from all over, each trying to sink him deeper and further into the darkness. And yet, Silver could still feel wheels of thought turning in his head, asking: why? Why did things have to turn out this way? He had defeated Garnet and was more than ready to make his new life with Snow. But that was all snatched away within an instant; the sorry mistake he had made in turning his back on his other half. And now, Silver was dead.

As the darkness picked him over, Silver could still feel unexplainable thoughts of a small pup that looked so strikingly identical to; a small brown bear whose image tickled his insides; and the image of a woman, so very human-looking, with long, billowing black hair. But she couldn't have been human. Just a glance into those deep, poison-purple eyes scent chills down Silver's spine.

And then, he could feel again. Or maybe it was just the perception of feeling. Could a dead person being able make out tangible sensations? His body was laying flat on cold, hard ground. Perhaps some kind of stone. Gravity was dragging him like a drug, and though he lay motionless for possibly just a few minutes, it felt like it had been hours. Silver's mind was still reeling with nonsensical cognisance when his fingers gave the first twitch. He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. Silver had no idea his eyes had been closed, and even as he slowly opened them, his pupils were only greeted by more soupy darkness.

"Does the darkness bother you, Silver?" The voice seemed to come from all directions, familiar and warm. It felt nice like a lowly beacon in a world he couldn't even see. Silver shook his head.

"It never does."

"Of course it doesn't."

Silver winced at the sharp pain that accompanied the sudden shrinking of his pupils. The light was too harsh and blinded him with a greater animosity than the darkness. But once his eyes had slowly began to adjust, the savage stinging in his head died down as quickly as it had come. Granted, the area around him was still wrapped in a thick sheet of darkness. But now, it was like a spotlight was being shown down from some massive bulb in the darkness above. The floor he was sitting on was made out of cold, hard stone fit into perfect squares, the edges of which ran in a vast circle until it met with the darkness like a wall. There was a path before him, one that ended in towering double doors. They glared menacingly down at Silver, silvery doorknobs reflecting the ominous light in every direction until the floor and Silvers black fur was freckled it. Black, heavy chains draped around the form of the doors that too disappeared into the darkness at the edges.

However, Silver's attention only stayed on the towering thresholds for a moment. He knew where the voice had come from. The old wolf sat before him with the same warm-but-serious expression he had always worn. He sat proudly next to his mate, who seemed just as mysterious and silent as the day Silver had met her. Of course he knew better; his grandmother—like Anna—had often fussed over him more than her mate, belying her reserved inward-ness.

"Grandmother and Grandfather…?" Silver had started, but then came to a very somber confirmation, "If you two are before me, then…" He looked at the pads of one of his paws. "Then my time has truly come…"

"It's the nature of being dead, Silver. Sometimes." The old female wolf spoke very gently, like a leaf gently dropping atop the surface of a lake. But Silver felt his ear raise in intrigue.

"Sometimes?"

"As in, yes and no."' Silver's Grandfather stated and raised to his paws. He gazed directly up towards the light, as if its harsh sting had no affect on him at all. Silver couldn't tell if he was just that great, or if he was just being a showoff.

"This place has many names. But I think it's more commonly referred to as purgatory, or something along those lines. You are indeed dead," The old wolf lowered his head and gazed directly at him, "but not quite."

The political response sent a pang of irritation through Silver. Did the wise and elderly always have to prance around the seemingly straightforward? And an answer of "not quite" was still unsettling to Silver. If he wasn't fully dead now, he probably would be soon enough. The thought was depressing, but not as depressing as the realization behind it. He was at a point where he couldn't see Snow again. No embracing; no kissing; no touching; no hearing loving voice or next rambunctious scheme that would more or less land them in some kind of life-threatening danger. He hid his eyes beneath the bangs of his headfur.

"So this must mean that Snow is out of my re—" It came on so that Silver didn't realize how hard he had clasped his paws down on the sides of his head until sharp stings of pain forced him to ease up. An even sharper pain had coursed through his head; though the images had been already flickering here and there, now they seemed to be speeding up and making even less sense than before. And it hurt, almost as much as it did when he got his memory back the first time. Images of Snow as a pup flickered like an old film reel again. But there was something different about them now. They weren't memories familiar to him of he and his mate's time in Jasper Park. No, this was somewhere different entirely; an event that he couldn't recognize in the least, but felt so undeniably attached to that he couldn't deny it.

And on Snow's thigh-as clear as day—was the outline of his mark of subjugation. It stood out like a glowing sore thumb, pronouncing a connection that somehow felt old and deep—one that had existed their entire childhood maybe. Silver pressed his forehead to the cool floor. It made his head feel a bit better as the images grinded down to a slow swirl once more.

"What did you see?" The grandfather asked.

"I-I saw…Snow. And my mark. And a grand room, and—" Silver's ears perked up and he looked up at the wolf that was his grandfather. The elder looked back at him with eyes of indifference, almost hard. Though he didn't repeat himself, his facial expression was like a demand for Silver to answer. "How did you know that I was seeing things—**saw** something?"

"…"

"Grandfather…?"

The elder wolf let out a sigh, short, but heavy, and cast his gaze to the side of the stone floor. He looked as though he were going to answer him, mouth slightly open to form the edge of a word on his tongue. But he seemed to rethink it at the last moment and shook his head, instead rephrasing his question. "You saw Snow as a pup, right?"

"Grandfather,"

"And a small brown bear—one with a pink scarf and gray eyes?"

"Hey—"

"And a woman? With long black hair and—"

"HEY!" Silver stamped his paw on the ground one, fierce time, effectively silencing the old man in mid sentence. The midnight wolf gave an irritated snort—his grandfather liked to dance around the answers, but at this point, Silver hadn't the patience for it. His grandfather allowed his fallen gaze to reconnect with Silver.

"Memories." His grandmother had spoken up first. She didn't look too particularly pleased in saying so, but maybe Silver's bothered expression was starting to get to her. She brushed past her mate, despite whatever defiant look he may have given her, and became level with Silver. "What you're seeing are your memories." That couldn't have been true. The images flickering around in Silver's head were only distantly familiar of places he had never seen and people he never knew. They were memories that felt more like a stranger.

"But I thought I got all of those back."

"Not…not all of them. Some had to be kept hidden away from you. There wasn't any other way, really…" She added hastily, "I guess it only makes sense for them to come back now at the thread-end of your life."

"It only makes sense? What use could they be if—" It didn't make sense to Silver, not at first, but before he could even get another word out, yet another realization hit him. One that caused him to look at the old couple with a kind of edged anxiety. Perhaps they saw it in his clear, silver eyes, for their return stares were like that of a thief being caught in the middle of climbing out the window.

"You had something to do with this…?" He asked, gently hesitant.

"Silver, we—"

"Delia, no." The old male's voice had suddenly gone stern—so much so with an alpha authority that both Silver and his grandmother—Delia—turned their attention on him. He made his way over to them, then closed the gap in between. His paw brandished Delia back, eyes hard and strong on her.

"He has a right to know." Delia hissed.

"And he will, but I can't let you tell him. Please, won't you stay back this one time?"

She could've punched him. She looked so very ready to, a look that even made Silver take a step back. But her mate did not move from between them. Delia snorted and backed away only a short distance away from them. What on earth was going on?

"Silver," His grandfather turned to him, "Listen to every word I say _clearly_." The old wolf slowly—very slowly—leaned over until his muzzle was tickling Silver's ear. Slowly, the words came out, hissed into Silver's attention as though just hearing them alone was like some sort of taboo.

And every word was suddenly like a key, unlocking scene after scene of forgotten memory. The reels of pictures that had been spooling around in his thoughts were suddenly whirling out of control, rattling against the edges of his brain as they re-arranged themselves; filled the gaps in forgotten areas of black like rubbing a blurring smudge form the face of a window pane. Silver's eyes widened, trembled, and he wasn't sure if the spinning room was enough to make him stagger off of his feet. He could remember everything; he could remember how and why Snow was marked; He could remember why the bear in the pink scar constantly plagued his memories; he knew who Aurora was. But more so, he could remember the woman in black. The woman with her long, flowing dark hair, black satin dress that clung to her body like an extra set of skin; her fingernails long like ebony knives; the grin of her purple lipstick mimicking the color of her eyes. And as the realizations swept over Silver like a wave, he felt angry. An uncontrollably, infallible anger rising up like a wild flame with his memories as the match. He understood why the old wolf had treated the words he had spoken like such a taboo.

"Silver…I know, you probably—"

"YOU!" Silver's speed was unrivaled even in such a sorry purgatorial state, and he had thrown himself onto the elder wolf before even he could realize what was going on. His paw pressed like an anchor into his chest, all claws drawn, fangs barred, and fire spitting in his vibrant Silver eyes.

"Chrona!" The older female wolf called out in reflex, but thought better of moving lest one of Silver's claws cleave into her mate.

"This—all of _this_ is because of YOU!" Silver's right paw raised high over his head. His claws were poised right for the old wolf's forehead, ready and capable of instantaneous death. The old wolf's eyes widened—clearly, he had expected a reaction, but maybe not one so strong as this; not one that would have put him within an inch of his life. He couldn't move—didn't dare to move—not even when Silver's claws suddenly dropped towards him without question. Chrona flinched his eyes shut.

What he heard and felt, however, were even more unexpected than having been knocked down. Claws had struck, but only deep into the ground inches away from his ears. And warm, minute splatters blotted his nose. First one, then another, before the drops had slowly multiplied into a salty, warm drizzle on his muzzle. The old wolf slowly opened his eyes and gazed up. Tears—angry tears—poured from Silver's eyes and rolled off his cheeks uncontrollably. The air of danger that had once emanated from him had all but dissipated, and now he had been reduced from predator back to child. Delia, who had clasped her paws over her muzzle, finally realized she had been holding her breath and let it out sharply.

"Why…?" Silver's voice croaked, "You stupid, sorry old man, why did you do this? Because of you, Nina is dead! Because of you, Snow got dragged into all this—she almost died! If she would have been killed, what would I have done? Huh? And now," Silver slammed his eyes shut and growled, "Because of you, I can never see my Snow again."

"Because of me, you were able to meet Snow in the first place." Chrona stated. He had quickly found his cool again and now he lay composed beneath Silver despite still being overpowered. Silver's eyes widened, as if trying to find some sort of rebuttal to give and coming up with nothing. So instead, his mouth hung slightly open, now possibly feeling more stupid than angry. This foolish old man didn't deserve to be right. He didn't deserve the shred of mercy Silver had allotted him.

"Silver, please try to be calm, as hard of a request that may be." Delia finally felt it was safe enough to move forward. She, like her mate, had fluidly moved back into her composure. She didn't walk too close, but just enough to level the attention with the midnight wolf. "We know what we've done is wrong. We understand all the bad things that we've done to you—both you and Garnett. But now _you_ have to understand that we had no choice. We had to fix the mess that was made, and your memories—your life—they were necessary for that to happen. We really had no choice."

"You had a choice." Silver scoffed, "You just wanted to cover up your mistakes. First with Nina when I was whole, and now with Garnett and even poor Aurora!"

"Wrong, now get off of me." Chrona spoke sternly. Silver looked down at him glaringly. Was he really in such a position to make threats? But with the last of his tears, Silver reluctantly took a step back from his captive. Better to keep what little bit of dignity he had left than to turn into the old codger at his feet. Silver's paw must have been pressing harder than he had thought, for the old wolf coughed for air upon release. That made Silver regret his attack. A little bit.

"Nina's predicament was a mistake," The old wolf rolled up to a sitting position. His paw rubbed his chest and he looked as though he were still reeling for air. "We misunderstood the situation. Killing your first subjugate was not the right course of action for us and we regret taking her from you. But taking your memories captive and putting Snow in harm's way is something I'm not apologizing for, Silver. It was born out of necessity whether you want to believe it or not."

It was a blunt response that made Silver just about as angry as he had ever been. Necessity? Playing with the lives of others had now become a necessity? Silver let an involuntary growl roll deep from within his chest. Whether Chrona heard it or not was unclear, but both he and Delia clearly understood the contempt held in Silver's eyes. Chrona's eyes looked more tired than they had been earlier. Sure, he was still holding his composition up, but the calm was but a thin wall holding back a sea of tiredness. He brought his paws up to his face, rubbed his fingers between his eyes where the lines seemed to be the thickest. And after a long, unspoken moment, he began to talk again.

"Silver, I know you're aware that when you and Garnet were separated, you took an equal share of the power you hold dominion over—both a little bit of light and a little bit of darkness. But…" Chrona sighed, "Unlike you, Garnet only became more and more enraged until it became out of anyone's control. The result of his rage—by letting the darkness saturate his heart—led to the death of every spirit's earth-bound form and almost lead to the destruction of our souls in the Valley of Kings. Don't you see it clearly now?" He placed his paw onto his chest, right across his heart. "It had to be you to stop him, you who once was part of him. You were the only one who could match the power of rage with something even more powerful—love. Your love for Snow. it kept you out of the dark and it was the only way to put an end to Garnet's madness, Silver. If you had your full memories of everything…well, we were afraid that you might have gone down an arrant path too."

"But look now!" Silver exclaimed, stamping the ground. "You made me fall in love only for that love to be snatched away!" His voice cracked and he realized that this was also the weakest he had ever felt; at a point in his life, he was once proud and strong; at a point of his life, he had protected his loved one with everything he was; and now, there were no more points of his life. His life was gone. "My heart is broken…I can never see Snow again because I'm d—" the word caught, "—Because I'm dead…"

"…" The older female wolf slowly raised to her paws and looked at him. Her expression didn't seem so hostile anymore, which was kind of refreshing for even Silver's emotionally wrecked state. She gave a small smile, "Yes and no, like we said earlier. It can't really make up for all the things that have happened to you, but…Chrona and I have called you here from death to give you a gift—a _real_ gift from us."

"What kind of gift…?" Silver felt himself ask automatically.

Delia looked him straight in the eye. "Your chance at life again."

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><p><strong><em>Who's Nina? Who's Aurora and what is her relationship to Garnet and Silver? What exactly did the old couple do? And what was Silver's true past? In honesty, I was really debating releasing this chapter zero because of how heavily it ties into the prequel. But since everyone's been waiting so patiently, I felt bad about not having anything ready. So tune into the next chapter zero (There are only three) and definitely look out for the prequel<em>**


	2. Painful Awakening

**_Sorry about the wait, everyone. But finals and school are finally over so now I'll have some more time to get down to the grindstone. This is the second chapter of the "Chapter Zeros", and the prequel is still underway. I want to thank everyone for their continued support and patience. Enjoy_**

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><p>"What kind of gift…?" Silver felt himself ask automatically.<p>

Delia looked him straight in the eye. "Your chance at life again."

Silver wasn't sure he had heard her right. His ears turned up sharply like radars trying to intercept the message again. Another chance at life? Could that even be done? But before he could even discern anything, he felt his heart already starting to leap in his chest. A second chance was his ticket to see Snow. No more cold, lonely death trying to grab him from all sides; he could instead be in the warm arms of his beloved.

"Of course, you must realize that this won't come free or easy, Silver." Chrona cast his gaze to Silver, serious and almost piercing. "It won't be so much restoring your life as it will be pulling your soul back into your body. Sadly…" He closed his eyes, "No one can really bring back the dead. Only someone who is caught in the purgatory in between like you can have this kind of chance."

"How do we do it?" Silver felt the words slip out of his mouth quickly with a edge of impatience. The old wolf didn't seem particularly bothered by it and obliged by lightly clapping his paws together. The sound resonated for a second, but was quickly swallowed up in the emptiness surrounding them. There was a loud "chink" that almost made Silver jump back; and then, a deafening thud shook the room as one of the large chain links dropped from the door to the ground. The room rattled yet again as another followed suit, and then another, and yet another until the links rained from the door like metallic drops of black water. Silver felt absolutely on edge, as though the whole room would come crashing down on him. But the old couple didn't so much as flinch, despite how close the chains were falling at their backs. Showoffs. One by one, the links fell, and once the last plummeted below, the rumbling turned into a numb humming sound. The two old wolves didn't speak. Instead, they merely stepped to the opposing sides, so that Silver had a clear path to the door up the middle. Silver found himself automatically making his way towards the towering structures. The doors were much more intimidating up close, looming like giants that made him dizzy the more he gazed up to the top. And they looked heavy. Silver glanced back at them, attained a reassuring nod, and nonetheless, pressed his paws against the double doors. His pads felt smooth against the carefully crafted alabaster that shimmered like micro diamonds from the blinding doorknobs. But they weren't as heavy as they looked and slid open quite easily. A light cascaded from the other side, like something that was trying to cast away the darkness beyond, and Silver squinted. Cool, fresh air tickled his fur, and he could smell water. When his eyes had adjusted from the light, Silver let out a soft gasp.

It was the grandest fountain he had ever seen in his life. Cut from the same alabaster as the door and settled in the pit of a vast cavernous room, the structure rose out of a crater in the ground to a point that even surpassed that of the doors. Silvery water splashed down bowl-shaped levels of the fountain endlessly towards the largest bowl at the base, and several platforms dawned bridges that allowed access to the many different levels of the structure. Wild flowers—much like the ones in the Valley of Kings—spiraled the face unchecked, even if it meant several petals became washed up into the falls. The cold stone of the outer room transformed into smooth, green marble that cast the light from an unknown source back out beyond the doors.

"What is this…?" Silver asked, awestruck.

"Eluethera, or a Fountain of Life, or water of wisdom—it too has many names. Let's just say the 'Life-Giver's Well'." Delia answered. She and the old man walked past Silver, who stepped beyond the threshold. They didn't say much; just lead him silently across the way, along a bridge, towards one of the bowl-shaped levels. Silver hadn't noticed that each bridge had a minute stairwell running underneath for accessing the other levels. But truth be told, they didn't look all that safe to begin with, even as Chrona glided effortlessly down them, disappearing at the bottom.

"Silver…" Delia pursed her lips. She stayed silent for a moment, even after Silver acknowledged her. "When you get back, I want you to forget the things that have transpired up until this point. I know it isn't my place to say, but still…after everything," She looked at him, "You deserve the normal life you've been seeking for so long." Silver only nodded in response. It had been his intention from the beginning to forget the piss-poor events up until he met Snow. It hadn't taken long for Chrona to come walking back up the stairwell. Clutched in his tail was a golden chalice, grand-handled and jewel-encrusted, shimmering in the light cast from nowhere. Rippling inside of it was some of the silvery water that flowed through the fountain. Chrona gently placed the chalice down in front of Silver.

"This is it. This is the key to your return."

Silver cocked his head to the side slightly. "That's it? All I have to do is drink this and that's all?"

"If only that was 'all'." Chrona sat down and stared into the cup. His reflection was cast back so clear, the water could have been mistaken for a liquid mirror. "Silver, you would do anything to return to Snow? Anything at any cost?"

"Of course!" Silver felt himself jump up involuntary. The old man didn't seem to notice, or move his gaze away from the water.

"Even at a grave cost? Even at the expense of more pain than you've ever felt in your life?"

"What are you talking about?"

Chrona gently placed his claw into the cup and stirred the water. It rippled in perfect echoing circles from the epicenter, yet it somehow magically seemed to keep from distorting his reflection along the surface. "The water that flows in this fountain has life-giving properties. That's why mundanes refer to it as the Fountain of Life, or Fountain of Youth. One drop could extend a man's life for days. One sip could give him weeks. A mouthful could push him beyond the years of a natural death."

"But it doesn't work the same way for spirits like us." Delia spoke a little solemnly, averting her gaze from Silver. "This water—it is a poison to our kind. One drop could make us sick, but even a small dose could send us to our deaths."

"Then how the hell is this supposed to help me? I thought the object was to bring me back, not kill me deader than I already am!" Silver exclaimed. They had better not have gotten his hopes up for nothing.

"You're a special case, since you're stuck where you are. There is a chance for you to come back." Chrona slid the chalice up to Silver's paws, "It may bring you back to life, at one definite cost—and one very real possibility. It will definitely take your powers away, but I suspect that you don't really have a problem with that. However…" He raised his gaze up to him sharply, "It will be painful—very, very painful. As the poison courses through your body, you could die anyway."

Silver felt himself bite down on his lower lip. Of course this wouldn't be easy; of course there was always a catch. Even after all this—after all the hype they made about giving him a gift, it was only a half-assed one at best.

But half-assed was better than nothing.

"I'll do whatever it takes." Silver grasped the chalice with both paws. The water—pure poison for his kind—rippled with his perfect reflection within. Death was still an option and waited with it's cold hands open wide to receive him again. But he wouldn't let it. Snow was more important and he'd be damned if he let death have him again. The old couple sat as silent as the dead, only the sound of rushing water and crashing falls filling the distance. The time was now. Silver closed his eyes, pressed his maw to the chalice, and lifted the bottom.

Only to wretch and spit a jet-stream of liquid into Chrona's face.

"Uh…" The old wolf frowned, face dripping wet while his mate suppressed an involuntary chuckle.

"The hell is this? Oh god, my taste buds feel like they're burning off!" Silver frantically rubbed his tongue down with his paws, as if he could literally rub the taste off of it, "This stuff is terrible!"

"Well I'm sorry, what the hell is it supposed to taste like?" Chrona grumbled, wiping his face off.

Silver turned his back to them. The foul liquid had stung his tongue dead for a few moments, but now he could feel his sense of taste slowly recovering. He wasn't too keen on drinking in the rest, but knew that he had no choice. Snow was worth a little bad-tasting medicine. As he reattempted to drink from the chalice, the taste was certainly foul indeed. Salty, almost metallic that left a horrible aftertaste that attacked his taste buds like liquid daggers. He wanted to gag. He wanted to spit the liquid poison out and chuck the chalice as far as he possibly could. But he sat there in what seemed like hours, drink trailing slightly down his cheeks, until he drew the disdainful cup from his maw. There, he had done it; downed as much of it as he possibly could.

And now, Silver waited. He sat somewhat tense. Would it be a quick rush of sudden pain, or would it be something slow and agonizing? He continued to sit and wait for some kind of sensation to overtake his senses. First for a few seconds; then a few minutes. But still, he felt nothing, other than the numbness that left his tongue limp. So the drink did manage to kill _something_ at least.

"I…dun' 'eel any'ing." He looked to the old couple, tongue hanging out of his mouth. "'Ot a thin'."

"Maybe you have to drink a little more—"

"Oh 'ell no! I'm not gonna—"

_BA-DUMP!_ It was enough to make him freeze; a single heartbeat so hard that it shook his whole body; so loud that the sound made his ears ring. Again, his heart gave a ridiculously loud thud, more deafening than the first. His paw tried reach up to his chest, but his fingers were trembling as though electric surges were racking his nerves. The powerful heartbeats slammed his chest in greater repetition, his breathing becoming sharp and intense. Every intake of air was like breathing through a straw, lungs desperate for oxygen with every single beat. He tried to talk, but only a gaggle of sounds spilled from his lips.

_BA-DUMP!_

"Ack!" Silver winced, clutching his chest here his heart was. The beats were now becoming painful, like his heart was trying to smash its way out of his chest. Silver's body shuddered. Clenching his fangs was about all he could do to not fall over. He could take this. The pain was nothing but an obstacle. It was nothing compared to the thought of not being able to see Snow again. Silver turned his gaze to the old couple, not realizing just how hard he was panting until the sight of them shook like bad tape tracking. Chrona's wasn't as easy to read as Delia's, but the two of them gazed at Silver with a look of concern. A helpless kind of concern, knowing that at this point, there was really nothing they could do but just sit and watch whatever happened unfold. Still, Silver reflected an air of unwavering confidence, even if he was gasping for air.

"S-See..? I can handle this…" He sputtered. But it didn't exactly inspire confidence. Delia pressed her paw to her mouth, turning away from him. Maybe it had seemed like a good idea at first, but now she was wishing she could take it back. Maybe the realization of the pain Silver would be in didn't really hit her until she was forced to sit there, watching him shudder in pain.

"Silver…" Chrona closed his eyes slowly, "It hasn't even started yet…"

_BA-DUMP!_

Silver's body suddenly seized to a perfect stand-still. The pain came on so quickly. It felt like his heart was exploding; each beat became a burst of dynamite in his chest, sending fragments of hot pain that took what little breath he had away. Every nerve in his body was on fire—as though each one was being skewered with white-hot swords. Breathing had now ceased in being the dominating issue, and Silver felt himself letting out a blood-curdling scream. The midnight wolf's body shuddered in the most unspeakable pain he had ever felt in his life. He could barely feel his claws digging into his skin as he clutched his chest; barely noticed that he had gone crashing to the ground and the world around him now lay on its side. The sound of his beating heart flooded his ears, muting everything else around him. And he quickly found himself wanting it to end. Ten seconds into the effects and Silver already found his mind betraying him. Only to be doomed by the somber thought that the point of no return had long since passed.

"Wrauughhh!" Silver slammed his head against the ground, hoping to distract pain with pain. But all he received was a trickle of salty blood running down his forehead to his muzzle, and a deep ringing to accompany his pounding head. How long would this last? How long would it feel like burning daggers ripping his skin and bombs going off in his chest? Silver sputtered, only barely realizing the flecks of crimson being coughed onto the marble floor. This was worse than dying. This was pure torture.

"Damn it…" Delia dug her claws into her arms. She had turned her head to the side, not able to look directly at Silver. She knew it would have been bad. She knew it was going to be painful. It wasn't enough to prepare her for this though. To see Silver writhing helplessly on the floor as poison violently racked his body. Silver let out another scream of pain and she found herself automatically reaching for him, but Chrona put his paw atop hers and lowered it, squeezing softly.

"No…" He said simply. He didn't look particularly frightened, but worry did wear on his face.

"But Chrona, we have to—"

"Have to **what**?" He looked at her. Delia opened her mouth to say something, found nothing, and slowly closed it back with a frown. Of course there was no way to ease Silver's pain—she knew that when she had offered this alternative to him.

"Remember Silver's circumstance…" Chrona spoke, "Because Silver and Garnet had to be split, he is only half of what he was when he was a whole being. At only half of himself, there's no way he can reincarnate himself as we can. This is the only chance at life he gets—even if he has to go through the painful risk of losing his soul. All we can do is wait—"

"HUAAGHHH!" There was another thud and they hadn't realized till the last moment that Silver's fit of pain had sent the young wolf soaring off the edge of the platform. He painfully splashed down into one of the shallow bowls of the fountain, only to burry his claws into the body of the basin. His pupils were horribly dilated and every spasm of pain forced a pronounced clench in his fangs.

"Chrona…" Delia hid her face into Chrona's fur. He sighed and placed his paw on her head, patting her ears down. Sure, he could watch Silver writhing in pain. Because he knew every pang of guilt he received from watching could never atone for the things that he had done to this young wolf.

"All we can do is wait…" He said under his breath, "All we can do is wait.."

-()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()—

It was like a nightmare with no off switch. It was like swimming through a sea of fire with no end in sight. The pain Silver felt was enough to rob him of his consciousness every now and then, only for him to see himself still bobbing on the surface of life and death a few moments later. How long had it been? A few months? Weeks? Or maybe years? He couldn't tell anymore; it all had become irrelevant the moment the pain was too much to take. Silver just wanted it to stop and even found himself trying to give into the pain several times. But every time he slipped, Snow's face appeared in his thoughts. She was just as her name: something cool and pure in a valley of fire.

_Sleep…_

Silver's mind echoed over and over. His head felt heavy and he laid it back down on the floor. Yes, sleep would be good. But it stood no chance against yet another flare of pain that caused him to scream out loud.

And then, Silver suddenly noticed that his lungs were filling with air. It still stung when he breathed, but the air was cool as opposed to feeling like he was inhaling hot coals. His breaths were long and hard, like someone who had just come up for air from the middle of the ocean. Silver could feel the numbing in his body go away; feel his brain actually becoming aware that his muscles and nerves did in fact exist to feel other sensations aside from pain. The floor was cold and soothing to the touch, and he found himself pressing his face against it in frantic respite.

"Silver!"

Silver's ears shot up immediately. It was the first voice he had heard in a long while and his ears were frantic to hear more. They picked up everything; the excited panting of breath; paw pads tapping the ground and coming closer to him; even the wafting of a canine tail before him.

"Silver, are you alright?"

"H-hell no…" Silver mumbled, and it hurt to talk.

"Quick—Chrona, get him some water!" There was the sounds of paws again, not running, but definitely hurried and fading away into the distance. "Silver…this is the first time you've stop screaming since…" He felt a paw on his forehead and quickly wanted her to pull it away. It was warm and he much rather preferred the ice cold stone floor. Chrona had soon returned and Silver felt something round like a bowl being pressed to his maw. Cool water had only barely touched his lips before he began to guzzle it down to the point of choking.

"Careful..." Delia rubbed the sputtering Silver's back. But he barely took it to heart and was draining the bowl empty again. "Do you feel pain anywhere still?"

Oh, he felt pain. But not so much the intense physical sensations he had been feeling as opposed to the dark memory in every nerve in his body of what he had gone through. Silver opened his eyes slowly, paws in frantic search for more water. His headfur had grown ridiculously long, locks cascading over his face to the point of covering his eyes. Just how long had he been there, on the floor, shuddering in excruciating pain? Chrona had taken off to retrieve more water, waiting for Silver to down yet another bowlful.

"The feeling will go away, but…" He looked straight into Silver's eyes, "You truly are something different. There were times where I half-expected you to give up, but it was like your body wouldn't allow you to. You've been on that floor writhing in pain for an entire year…"

"Wha-what?" Silver damn near spat out the last of his water. "A-a year? A _year?_ Is that even physically possible?"

"Apparently. I did say it wasn't going to be easy." The old wolf lowered the empty bowl down. And then, the corners of his mouth slowly turned up. "But I guess only a fool would have expected any less from someone with such a strong conviction."

Silver slowly raised his paws to his headfur; let his fingers run along the length that was tickling his muzzle. A whole year had gone by? An entire year of pain and torture that would have probably killed anyone else. And then, a sudden though caused his ears to shoot up. "Snow!" Silver raised hastily on his feet—only to find his legs to be as strong as jell-o and topple back towards the cold stone floor.

"Is fine…more or less." Delia helped Silver to an upright position. "Take it easy…"

But Silver refused. How could he be expected to take it easy? He had just gone through the greatest ordeal in his life. And now, he stood in the light at the end of the tunnel. He could go home. He could see Snow, be with her, and have a future with her. Everything in his body was excited, too much for him to just stay down. He tried to force his body to be steadfast and raise to his feet again. A year off his paws had taken its toll, his legs struggling to support his body weight. But he'd be damned if he was about to let this one little thing stop him after coming so far. Delia looked at Chrona, who only grinned ever so slightly as he watched Silver work the muscles in his legs. It was a moment of unspoken communication, but also one of unspoken confidence. Everything had been done, and now all that was left for Silver to do was to finally reap the rewards and make his way home.

-()()()()()()()()()())()()()()()(()()()-

Silver cursed the fact that it had taken weeks just for him to feel the strength in his legs finally return to him. Everything now felt so much harder than usual. His body had always healed quickly, returning back to its supernatural state like a rubber band being snapped back to its original orientation. But being mundane was different. And frustrating. Everything happened so slowly and power felt more privileged than like a right. But he really couldn't complain—this is what he had wanted from the very start. And when he was finally able to walk properly on his own two feet, excitement of returning home shocked him like lightning.

The trip from purgatory had happened in less than a second; a flash of whirling lights and wiping winds that made the midnight wolf's ears ring. And once he was back on his own familiar terra firma, Silver was reminded of Plato's cave allegory that he had once heard humans talk about. The light of the sun was blinding to his eyes, stinging the pupils to the size of a grain of rice. Cold air—winter air—caressed his headfur and whipped it all about his face till the strands clung to the side of his muzzle. His paws froze, sunk deep down into a thicket of soft, silvery snow. When his eyes had finally readjusted, the snow mountainous terrain played familiar on his memories. Somewhat. He could see massive amounts of debris from Garnet's sacred bastion littered about in the snow in unsightly chunks. It was as if the whole structure had gone careening out of the sky and shattered into a million large fragments along the face of the mountain.

"Here." Delia wrapped a black scarf around Silver's neck, and he quickly appreciated the velvety fabric pressed warm to his fur. "And get a haircut, it's a wonder you can even see."

"Heh, I think I'll keep it this way for a while." Silver smiled softly.

"You'll need this." Chrona slapped a hip pack over Silver's flanks. It felt a little heavy, overpacked with what smelled like food and drink. "You have a long journey ahead of you. You are mundane now, afterall; a journey that would have taken moments will now cost you days."

"What?" Silver whipped around, "You mean you two are just gonna dump me here?" He complained.

"We're just gonna dump you here."

"Old man—"

"Because we have to, Silver." Delia spoke up as she took to her mate's side. "There is a mess that Garnet has created, and we have neglected that mess for an entire year. But now that you're finally able to do well on your own, we have to start fixing what Garnet has undone."

"With every spirit but the three of us—err—the two of us gone, and I guess now with your being mundane, we have to make sure that each spirit is reincarnated properly and into their proper roles."

Silver made a face, but he understood well. Guilty of even a small part in throwing the balance of the world's spirits, he more than understood the two old geezers had their work cut out for them. So this was it; the point at which he parted from them and his old world to start fresh a new one. No longer immortal; no longer supernatural; now free to just be. It was like being born again. Silver turned and gazed out at the wide-open snowy terrain before him. It was going to be a long walk indeed.

"Silver…" Delia spoke up, waiting for the midnight wolf to turn back her way. "I just wanted to say…well, we're sorry for everything. Sorry for all that we've involved you in."

"Just…" Chrona looked to the side. "Just enjoy your life and don't waste your time."

Silver looked amused. Their words almost sounded parental. And he'd be almost inclined to believe that. Still, he smiled to them and nodded. This would be the last time he would have to see them and the last remnants of what he used to be. With a deep breath, Silver headed off through the silvery snow, hopes of his new life burning and happier than he had ever been in a long time…


End file.
